Thanks For the Memories
by GabbiCalabrese
Summary: Then, there was Adrian Ivashkov. How I hadn't seen him earlier was beyond me. His emerald eyes met mine and a lump instantly formed in my throat. I could feel my heart rate increase, thumping in my ears until it was deafening.
1. Chapter 1

**Hi, everybody. This is obviously a new story, and guess what….It's all human! I'm just experimenting here. I have no idea if I'll be any good at writing Rose as a human, but I think it will be fun. Okay, enjoy!**

**Oh and I don't own Vampire Academy or any of the other books. That all goes to Richelle Mead. The luckiest ginger I have ever wished to know. The characters belong to her too. Which is really upsetting, but so totally true! **

Shit. I knew it was going to happen sooner or later. Silly me, I was counting on later. I tried to focus past the obnoxious thumping that insistently sounded from the other side of the door. Lissa stared at me expectantly, as if she was confident that I had come up with a plan. She opened her mouth to speak, but I shook my head to cut her off.

It was useless; they already knew we were home. The house was buzzing with life and lights and the quiet hum of our T.V. Meanwhile, Lissa and I were crouched behind a large leather sofa. Yes, we had made ourselves quite comfy within the past six months that we had taken residence in Rhode Island, as far away from California as we could get. Still, somehow they found us.

"Open the damn door!" Oh, beautiful. Janine Hathaway had taken time out of her busy schedule to make a personal appearance.

I'm sure Lissa's face mirrored mine as her eyes widened with panic. I was out of ideas.

I stood up, and before Lissa's yelp or my chaotic thoughts could stop me, I walked to the front door of our apartment. I was not going to underestimate my mother. She would be more than willing to bust down the door and drag Lissa and me right out of our cozy place. I figured it was better to go willingly and with dignity. I slowly unbolted the door and swung it open to find a whole fucking pack of bulky, warrior-like—and not too hard on the eyes—men, my mother leading the group.

My mom was a very wealthy, very well-known lawyer in California. She had worked for several celebrities and millionaires. It was safe to say she was a big deal, but I had a feeling she was involved in some other secret business. Probably illegal. No lawyer had the influence she did.

"Oh, Rosemarie. What a pleasure," she snarled.

"Mommy dearest, the pleasure is all mine." Each word was drenched in venom.

"You thought you would get away with it, didn't you?" She shot at me, a dry smile twisting her features.

"You should have believed me."

"So that's what this is? A very petty attempt to show how rebellious and stupid you can be?" I was getting ready to tell her no. It wasn't about that at all. I was just rescuing my best friend from the nightmare she had to endure every day. But her next words stunned me silent. "Now, to prove who's really in control, I'll have you know that you're going to start living with your father."

My mouth gaped open. "You—you can't do that!" I stuttered angrily.

Her mouth twisted into a smug grin. "Oh, but I can. You are only seventeen. And Lissa is only sixteen." Lissa had come out of her hiding spot behind the furniture, and took place beside me. I could see the tears welling up in her eyes that she was struggling to retain.

"That's not fair!" My father lived in some hick town in Florida called Trenton. It was a practically microscopic place where everybody knew everybody. I had lived there for the first ten years of my life, but my mother and father got a divorce and my mother rescued me from that hellhole. Me and Lissa had visited there a few summers, but overall it was a place that I tried to avoid. My mother knew that.

"I think it is a perfectly reasonable punishment for running away."

"I was helping Lissa."

My bitch of a mother scoffed as if that was the most ridiculous thing she had ever heard. "Get your bags packed. You have a half hour." With that, she turned and walked away, and the huge mob of warriors barged into our house as if they owned it.

They shuffled in one by one, faces hard and stoic. "We're not going!" I shouted. My voice bounced around the room, clearly not affecting the recruits as some looked down on me with amusement.

"Miss Hathaway, I'm not so sure you have a choice," One of the younger employees told me.

"Well I am. We're. Not. Going. With. You." I worked to sound fierce, and if I was facing someone like Rachel Locke, the head cheerleader at our school, I probably would have been intimidating and made her pee herself. But these guys were obviously immune to my ferociousness.

"Let me rephrase that. You have absolutely no choice in the matter. We were ordered to get you out of this house, whether we have to drag you kicking and screaming or you simply go willingly. That is exactly what we plan to do. I advise you succumb to our wishes, for that will be much easier for all of us—including you and your friend here." Did he just say succumb? What was I dealing with, a bunch of vampires? **(A/N: I just had to put that in. No, she's not dealing with a bunch of vampires :/)**

"I have a name!" Lissa squeaked, making her first sound since my mother had arrived.

"I apologize, Miss Dragomir." He turned his attention back to me. "I advise you begin to gather your stuff. Your mother said you two have a half an hour and that time is being wasted as you stay here and argue with me."

I was so close to telling them to go to Hell and that I had had enough of my mother's bullshit and that she could go to Hell with them. I was fully prepared to have them drag me out "kicking and screaming". But, as usual, Lissa broke me. She lightly placed a hand on my shoulder, and in her soft voice, she said, "Rose, maybe we should just cooperate. Either way, we're going to end up going, so why not leave peacefully? We've had some great memories here, but we both know that this has never felt like home to us."

She sounded so reasonable. I wanted to listen to her, I really did. But I just couldn't. I couldn't let my mother win. "Lissa, I—"

She must have noticed the determination that still blazed within my eyes, because she wouldn't let me finish. "Rose, please?"

I sagged in defeat. The whole reason I took Lissa away in the first place was to make her happy, she was my best friend and I would do anything for her. So, if she wanted to listen to the warrior guys, then I should listen to them. "Liss, what about the memories?" I asked. I have no idea why I asked. I had already decided to go.

"We're going to your dad's house. There are no haunting memories there."

I nodded and turned to the employee who had been talking to us the whole time. "Fine. We're going."

I didn't stay to see his reaction. I stalked off to my room to pack all my stuff.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

The plane ride had been beyond exhausting, and I hadn't been able to sleep the whole way. I could only think about the adventure that was awaiting Lissa and I. Well, I didn't really believe it would be all that bad for Lissa. It was more me that I was worried about for once. The problem was that I was being forced to interact with people I hadn't seen for seven years when I moved.

I knew I had a lot of old friends that would instantly get pissed at me the second they saw me. Not because I was mean to them or anything. It was because I had been best friends with all of them, and then I just stopped. I moved away and it was like I fell off the face of the earth. I never called. In fact, I ignored their calls, and when I visited I never hung out with any of them.

The only person that I was looking forward to seeing was the only person that I still talked to from when I was younger. Eddie Castile had been my first real friend, crush, kiss, and then boyfriend. We started dating eighth grade when I came to visit my dad with Lissa. Eddie was actually a year older, so he was a freshman, but he didn't care about that, or if anybody made fun of him for dating a middle-schooler. The truth was that we grew up together and we had always been there for each other, and along with the trust that bloomed between us, so did feelings. Next thing I knew we were making out in Burger Spot—the only "fast food" restaurant in town.

We kept a long distance relationship until about half way through my freshman year. No, we didn't split because one of us cheated or anything like that. We were both really faithful, and I trusted Eddie with my life. Honestly, after a year, it would be hard for me to say that I wasn't falling in love with him. I knew he was falling hard for me as well. We talked on the phone every night, and for birthdays and holidays we sent each other gifts. I didn't have to see him in order for him to make me happy.

So why did we break up? I believe that two words could sum that up perfectly: Step brother. I was pissed when I found out that Jennifer, Eddie's mom, had decided to marry my father. Because, really, it's just gross to be dating a family member, whether it's by blood or not. And then, I broke his heart right along with mine with a very unpleasant conversation, and we went back to just being good friends.

Lissa slept soundly throughout almost the entire trip, which allowed me too much time to dwell on the negatives of returning to Trenton. And, what do you know, my mind was so busy buzzing, that before I knew it, we were preparing for landing.

I shook Lissa lightly, and her eyelids fluttered open. "We landing already?" She mumbled groggily.

"Yup."

"What's wrong?" She asked as she sat up straight and looked at me. Was it that obvious?

"Nothing, just tired. I couldn't sleep."

The corners of her lips tugged down into a disbelieving frown, but she shrugged it off and stretched out her limbs with a giant yawn.

"I can tell you rested peacefully," I said lightly, trying my hardest not to mope. That's not what I did. I wasn't a moper, I took actions instead of sitting around and letting my emotions consume me. But really, what actions are you supposed to take when you are thousands of feet in the air?

"Yeah. It sucks that you have sleeping issues on planes. But at least we weren't coming from California this time!"

We got our bags quickly and headed for the exit of the airport. I honestly had no idea who would be picking us up or if anybody would be. Knowing the compassionate parents I had, we'd be walking home. Or hitchhiking. No cabs would take us to Trenton.

Just as I thought that, I heard an all too familiar voice call our names. "Hathaway! Lissa!"

I turned around and not three yards away, Eddie was standing there waving and giving me his lopsided grin that I happened to adore. I dropped my bags and ran over to him, immediately wrapping him in a hug which he so wonderfully returned.

After several moments we disconnected ourselves, and Eddie shot a grin Lissa's way. They didn't know each other very well, but I had a feeling that if Lissa looked left out or anything—which she didn't—then he would have gladly stepped aside and wrapped her up in his arms as well. Instead, she granted him with one of her angelic smiles and he turned his attention back to me.

"Wow," he said. "You look—I mean, how long has it been?" He sounded nervous, and I didn't blame him, it was actually the first time we had seen each other in person since we broke up.

"Three years," I mumbled sheepishly.

"Well then, we have a lot of catching up to do. Come on you two." He turned on his heels and began striding towards the exit of the airport. Lissa had very helpfully grabbed the luggage I had dropped when I attacked Eddie, and handed them to me as we stumbled after him.

When we got to his black Tiburon, we struggled to fit both of our stuff in the little trunk. After we finally closed the back, we piled into the tiny car. I, of course, took shotgun, and Lissa stretched out in the back. It wasn't the most comfortable situation, but it was better than hitchhiking.

"Eddie," I said, breaking the few minutes of silence that settled between the three of us. "I'm sorry that you had to come get us. Please tell me Abe is funding the gas." The airport was at least a couple hours away from Trenton, maybe more.

Eddie didn't look at me, but I could tell he rolled his eyes. "Rose, please. When I found out you were coming I was more than willing to hop into the car and pick you guys up."

"Still. I know you have better things to do than pick up your little…sister." I tripped over the last word. It was the first time I had really used it with him.

Eddie didn't seem to be too affected though. He kept the light atmosphere. "Like you said, it's been three years. I _wanted_ to give you a ride. And besides, your dad doesn't need to pay for anything. I have a job now."

"You're using hard earned money for this trip?" I squeaked.

He gave a light chuckle. "It wasn't that hard earned. I'm a video game tester."

I had to laugh at that. It was the perfect job for Eddie. He had been playing video games ever since I could remember. It started out with SpongeBob Squarepants games on the Game Cube, and later advanced to Call of Duty on the Play Station 3. Though, I must admit, for someone who sits around and plays video games all day long, Eddie was in immaculate shape. I could see the hard muscles swelling under his T-Shirt with every move he made.

"Well, thanks then," I finally said.

"Yeah, thanks Eddie!" Lissa chimed from the back.

"So I hear that it was quite some stunt the two of you pulled." I could see the corner of his lip twitch up, and weirdly enough, I knew he was proud. Eddie was like that. He was all for spontaneous acts of rebellion, though despite my mother's claims, that wasn't what it was at all.

"Believe it or not, I had a good reason."

He nodded. "I believe it."

Then, I was sucked into the memory of it all. I felt like I was reliving that night all over again. I could feel the drops of moisture dripping through my T-Shirt as Lissa clung to me. I could vividly recall the look of pain that manipulated her entire face. It was unbearable. The feeling of tightness in my chest as I looked into her crystal blue eyes. I knew then I had to make a move, my best friend wasn't going to suffer like that.

"_Mom? I have to ask you something."  
"Alright."  
"Please don't immediately write it off as ridiculous, because I'm drop dead serious."  
"Rose, you're scaring me."  
"I want to move. Out of California."  
"What! Why?"  
"It's Lissa. She can't take it anymore. And I can't stand seeing her going through this. Please, Mom!"  
"Rose, we can't do that."  
"Why not?"  
"This is our lives. Here. In California. I have a job and you guys are going to school. We can't just pack up and go."  
"Mom, you can be a lawyer anywhere in the fucking universe! You make business trips out of the country all the time! Me and Lissa can go to school ANYWHERE. If we continue to go Wildwood, Lissa's is just going to be depressed. Her grades will slip and so will mine!"  
"Honey, no."  
"Will you stop being so damn selfish? I know all your little boy toys live here. But you're rich! No matter where we go you'll find someone to get nasty with. Lissa has to get out of here. There's just too much baggage and pain for her!"  
"Rose, what happened to Lissa…well that would be hard on anybody but—"  
"But Lissa' not just anybody. She's my best friend. I'm not going to just sit here and watch her go crazy."  
"The pain will subside."  
"Really? It's been six months! Six months and she still can't believe they're gone. She still wakes up every morning hoping that it was all just one long, excruciating nightmare. You know how that feels for me? I can't comfort her, I can't help her. Her family is dead, and I'm the only one she has left, yet I can't do anything for her because no matter what it sucks for her! No matter what they're still dead. Everywhere she goes there is a memory she has with them. Everybody she sees."  
"Give her time."  
"She doesn't need time! She needs to get away. Start fresh! If you're not going to get out of here, then the two of us will."  
"You most certainly will not!"  
"There's nothing you can do to stop me."  
"What are you going to do, run away?"  
"As a matter of fact, I think we will."  
"Please, Rose. That's a pathetic lie."  
"You think I'm lying? We'll see about that."  
"I'm sure we will. Are we done here? I have to get back to work."  
"Oh yes. We're done."_

"Rose?" Eddie said warily, shaking away the horrid memory.

"Oh, sorry. I was just—Sorry."

"No need to apologize. Just scared me for a second there." He was looking at me, only halfway paying attention to the road. I shuddered.

"Eyes on the road!" It didn't come out bitchy, thankfully. It came out timid and worried. That was how they died. That was how she lost them. Just a few seconds of divided attention.

Eddie's eyes flickered back to the road in front of us. He knew what had happened to Lissa's parents and her brother, and I could see the shadows of embarrassment as he refocused on his driving.

"Liss," I called back, trying to break the tension. "Can I borrow some chapstick? My lips are on fire!"

Silence. I rotated my body and looked in the back seat, where Liss was curled up and sleeping. I felt a smile grace my lips at the sight of her. She looked so peaceful and it was a wonderful comparison to the agonized features that haunted my memories. I hadn't seen the pained expression for months, and I was glad.

"So, Rose, I know I shouldn't be saying this, but you look really good. Even better than before, which I didn't think was possible." His eyes were still on the road, but he was biting down on his bottom lip.

I felt something inside of me flutter. Like I said, I was falling in love with Eddie. I smiled, fighting the urge to bite down on his lip myself. "You too," I said almost silently.

**What do you think? It's not going to be a Rose and Eddie story, at least not completely. This is going to be a story based on a lot of relationship confusion for Rose. It's also going to include A LOT of lemons. Tehehehehhe! This was just something I did for fun, because I always wondered what Rose would be like as a human. **

**Ten reviews before I put up the next chapter. **

**And no, It's not going to be ALL lovey dovey. There will definitely be some action! **

**So…..TEN REVIEWS :D (Criticism definitely welcome!)**


	2. Chapter 2

**Wow, this story certainly did not get the attention I hoped for. But, I'm going to cave in and write another chapter. **

**-Sigh. **

**Enjoy!**

I had forgotten how large my father's house truly was. As Eddie's car rolled into the three car garage, I suddenly remembered. Abe Mazur had the biggest and only mansion in Trenton. It had been designed by my father and he hired a crew to build it.

I had grown up in the house, and though I had been separated from it for so long, I still knew every nook and cranny as well as I knew my own name. It had four levels. Six bedrooms. Four bathrooms. When I was younger, I used to believe that it could rival a princess castle, and a part of me still believed that.

As I walked through the front door, the first thing I spotted was black leather sofas and an enormous flat screen television. There was a coffee table made up of all glass between the two sofas and the lazy-boy recliners, and matching end tables. Beneath the coffee table there was a beautiful Persian rug with striking red patterns jutting in and out atop of a black backsplash. Above that, suspended from the ceiling, was a large chandelier with multiple rows of glimmering crystals

So he had renovated since the last time I had stayed there. That didn't surprise me. My father was always updating, always trying to be more modern. I had never remembered it being so tasteful, though, and I had a feeling that was related to Jennifer's presence in the house.

"Wow," Lissa breathed, crystalline eyes glowing and widening. "This. Is. Fantastic."

Eddie laughed from behind us. "Yeah. When me and my mom moved in, she was like a hurricane, blowing in and out, making changes here and there. Your father was ecstatic. He really was never much of a decorator."

I nodded. That was entirely too true.

"She even dresses him now," he continued. "She got him into these flashy suits and colorful scarves. Anyways, do you need me to show you around?"

I turned towards Eddie, eyebrows arched. "I don't think so."

H shrugged. "All right. Well, your dad's room is where it has always been. My room is the last one on the third floor. Besides those, you guys can have any rooms you want."

"Got it."

After Lissa and I selected our rooms and placed all of our belongings inside of them, we bounded down the stairs. I was pumped with energy. Lissa, on the other hand, was exhausted. She wasn't lazy or weak, but I spent a lot more time in a gym than she did, that was for sure.

Eddie was sitting in front of the TV, controller in his hand and focused intently on the screen. All I could see of the game was a lot of zombies—and their heads being blown off.

Lissa and I plopped down on the loveseat and Eddie paused his game and looked up at us. I grinned. "Work or fun?"

"Both." He chuckled. "Always both. Hey, I know you guys just got here and stuff, but I invited friends over to help me beat this new game. I'm sorry, I hope you don't mind."

"Of course we don't mind!" Lissa told him. She had always been very charismatic and absolutely adored meeting new people. I could tell that she was excited.

"Anybody I know?" I asked.

"Mason and Christian," he said. "Then there are guys you haven't met." Mason Ashford had been Eddie's best friend since they were born. He had been the goofy, awkward kid in our group, the type that would drench you with a water hose if you got too close. I remembered him having a shock of bright red hair and really pale skin. We had never been that close, but he was till my friend back then.

Christian Ozera, however, was the odd one out. I had always tried to avoid him. He had dark, dark hair and bright blue eyes that were even more striking than Lissa's. He was the one that was listening to heavy metal in second grade, and I suspected that he may have worshipped the devil a little.

Still, I was nervous about seeing both of them again.

"When are they getting here?" Lissa asked, a smile growing on her face.

Eddie's eyes darted to the digital clock on the cable box. "Any second."

Just then, the front door opened with a _beep-beep-beep_ noise that sounded every time somebody came in or went out.

"Eddie!" an unfamiliar voice shouted from the entrance hall. "The party has arrived."

Eddie rolled his eyes, but smirked. Then, he turned to me. "Listen," he said, voice turning slightly cold. "Some of these guys are trouble. And with the way you look…just be careful."

I nodded slowly. Eddie was treating me like a naïve little girl. Or perhaps, he was just treating me like a little sister. But I could handle myself, there was no doubt about that. I had been in the field, played the game. These guys didn't faze me.

Lissa, on the other hand, I was slightly worried about. She was innocent, naturally a good person. She had a tendency to get emotional and I worried about her. I had been protective of her since I had known her, but within the past year I had grown even more so. After her parents died she became vulnerable, an easy target to getting hurt. I would kill anybody who tried taking advantage of her.

"Living room!" Eddie shouted out to his friends, knocking me away from my dark thoughts.

There was a lot of shuffling and footsteps and all of a sudden, five guys appeared in the living room.

Mason was the easiest for me to distinguish. He still had his tousled red hair and a spattering of freckles across his face. He wore a sloppy grin that brought me back to childhood. Other than those qualities, not much was the same about him. He was no longer awkward or gangly like he had been. Instead, his arms and torso had filled out, revealing hard muscles that would have easily revved any girl's engine. There was also a sort of super hero, sixth century knight look to him, like he would gladly race in to save a damsel in distress.

Yes, he was hot.

Then there was Christian. Even if the icy blue color of his eyes and the sleek charcoal hair hadn't given him away, I would have easily been able to point him out. He was dressed head-to-toe in black, with a sardonic smirk decorating his face. Like he was perpetually pissed off at the world. He was pale and lanky, reminding me of a loner vampire out of a movie. I was still going to try to keep my distance.

The boy beside Christian was the type of guy that I had a lot of experience with: your typical jock. Dirty blond hair, blue eyes, and a cocky grin that told you he was already imagining what you would look like without your clothes. He was attractive, but if my history with guys like that taught me anything, it was that he was an ass-hole. All he wanted was me naked.

The next one was no boy. He was _man_. He towered over the others, probably about six-foot-seven with chocolate-colored hair and the warmest brown eyes I had ever seen. There was something strange about him, though. He stood rigid and blank, like a guard at Buckingham Palace. I had been wrong about Mason. _This_ guy had the super hero look to him.

He was incredibly beautiful.

Then, there was Adrian Ivashkov. How I hadn't seen him earlier was beyond me. His emerald eyes met mine and a lump instantly formed in my throat. I could feel my heart rate increase, thumping in my ears until it was deafening. I tried my hardest to take a deep breath, but it came out ragged. Memories, simultaneously blissful and horrid, rushed through me like the tide, tugging at my mind, but I blocked them.

_Why_ the _hell_ had I not thought of him? I knew he was one of Eddie's friends, but, like those memories, I wrote him out of my mind.

But seeing him standing in her new home, watching her with a knowing look in his eyes, brought it all back and sent a chill down my spine. He was as gorgeous as the first time I had met him, but now those looks scared me.

And I didn't scare easily.

"Rose," he said in his deep, husky voice. I remembered thinking once that it was like velvet, and I had let it wrap around me in a state of elation. "It's nice to see you again."

Out of the corner of my eyes, I could see everybody's faces twist in a mask of confusion, except for the beautiful man, who my eyes had never completely left since I saw him.

Eddie's brows furrowed in and he bit down on his bottom lip. "You guys have met?" he asked.

I turned to him and shook my head. "Nope," I laughed. "Never met him before in my life."

_That's right, _I thought. There was no way I was going to let Adrian see his presence had effected me at all, that that night had effected me at all. As far as he was concerned, he was just a random face in a group of guys.

"Okay," Eddie replied slowly, unsure.

Adrian's mouth opened slightly, as if he weren't sure what was going on. I proudly flicked my hair behind my shoulder and smiled. "So, are you going to introduce me to your friends?"

Lissa, who I had nearly forgotten was there came and stood beside me. I glanced at her and noticed her gaze was focused in one spot, lingering on one guy—Christian. I swallowed and grabbed Lissa's hand, giving it a squeeze as I tried to convey my message: _Danger, danger, danger!_

But she didn't seem to notice.

Eddie introduced Lissa and me to each person, one by one. Mason was staring at me with a look I was familiar with: desire. Christian was returning Lissa's hungry eyes, making me squirm a little. Mason would be okay, but there was no way I would let her get involved with Christian.

The blond boy who was still probably picturing me naked was named Jesse. I didn't care about him. In my book, he was already scum. The only name I cared about learning was the tall one's. It was Dimitri. When he said hello I detected a faint Russian accent, and I nearly swooned. Accents were sexy.

Then his face returned to the hard, emotionless visor that it had been before.

I ignored Adrian all together.

After we were all acquainted, I headed to the kitchen to make a snack for Lissa and I. It had been way too long since we had eaten. I was in the middle of fixing the second peanut butter and jelly sandwich when I felt someone come in behind me.

I whirled around quickly, old habits taking over. After being on the run for so long, I had learned to always be aware of my surroundings.

Adrian was standing in the doorway. His hair was stylishly ruffled and his hands were jammed inside of the pockets of his black slacks. He didn't say anything when I turned around. Only stared at me.

_My hands knotting in the bed sheet, sweat misting my entire body, a shot of pleasure beginning from my curled toes and shooting up to every muscle in my body, turning me to absolute liquid. _

"Don't pretend we've never met," he said, finally, thankfully dragging me away from my reverie.

"We haven't."

"Please," he scoffed. "I don't know what benefit you get from it. Protecting Eddie's feelings? Protecting your own? Rose, it's not _my_ fault."

I wasn't sure how to respond. Of course, he was right. Everything that had gone down between us, all the way to the end, had been my decision. I had insisted on controlling all of it, and I only hurt myself.

"But who's to say it couldn't have been?"

He raised his eyebrows. "What do you mean?"

"If I hadn't cut things off, you would have."

Then, I grabbed my sandwiches and left the kitchen, pushing Adrian with my shoulder as I passed.

**Okay, I think it's pretty obvious what happened. Hah! But….review and tell me what you think. Hopefully this will get better results!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Yay! The previous chapter was slightly more successful than the first! Woohoo reviewers! I would do a shout out to all of you guys, but it is late and I am tired and I am trying to produce this chapter as quickly as possible. Oh, and there's going to be a semi-important author's note at the end, just a warning. **

**Okay, enjoy! **

When I returned to the group, I made sure there was a smile painted on my face. I had gotten good at faking smiles, putting on a show. I was happy that Lissa couldn't see through any length of my facades, I didn't need her worrying about me. As much as she claimed she had settled in the past year, said she'd gotten stronger, I knew her and I knew that she didn't need any thing to make her hurt more than she already had.

Jesse was sprawled out on the floor, a second controller in his grip, pushing buttons at rapid speed. He was biting down roughly on his bottom lip as Eddie laughed and repeatedly pushed a button that appeared to shoot Jesse's character.

"Damn you," Jesse muttered and threw his controller down. "Rematch. Right now."

I turned my attention away from them, and located Lissa who had sat down on the recliner when I went to the kitchen. I froze when I noticed who was beside her, speaking in hushed tones and making Lissa giggle.

I marched over to the two, nearly gagging, and held out the sandwich I had completed. Lissa took it with a grin that had nothing to do with the food. I narrowed my eyes at Christian, and rested my hands on my hips. He still gave me the impression he would, without second thoughts, burn down a building for five dollars. "Step away."

Lissa's eyes bulged and irritation flickered across her face, but she didn't say anything. Christian, however, raised his eyebrows, that disturbing smirk never even wavering. "Rose Hathaway," he said. His voice was just as dark at his clothing. "I see California never improved your social skills. That is not the way to properly greet an old friend."

Scowling, I lifted my middle finger. Christian chuckled, low and cynical, and turned back to Lissa, who shrugged and happily continued their conversation. I gave her a look that told her there was most definitely going to be a lecture for her later.

"Rose, go easy on him. He's not as crazy as he looks," said a voice from behind me. I turned around to see Mason's lopsided grin.

I almost told him that any amount of crazy was too much where Lissa was concerned, but I decided against it, considering the source. "Yeah, well, Lissa has enough crazy in her life. He can take his business elsewhere."

Mason laughed, his blue eyes full of humor. That was just like Mason; there wasn't a whole lot that he took seriously. "Rose, Lissa is the first girl I've seen Christian look at, much less talk to, with an expression other than disdain. If he likes her, cool. If she likes him back, even better."

He didn't understand. I was working my ass off to keep Lissa in a good place, and Christian Ozera was not going to be the one to let all my hard work fall to nothing. If she got her heart broken, I wasn't sure what I would have to do to repair it.

"Don't you want her to be happy?" he asked, dragging me away from painful scenarios.

I nodded. I did want Lissa to be happy, but there were other ways. _Safer_ ways. Believe me, I was the reckless one; I liked danger and adrenaline. But when it came to Lissa, it didn't matter how drab I had to make life, I was the only one she had left, and I was going to make sure she was okay.

I had been so consumed in my own thoughts that when I blinked and refocused my mind, Mason had already left to talk to Adrian. That wasn't a conversation I wanted to join. I planned to just retire to my room, but as I headed towards the stairs, I caught glimpse of Dimitri, sitting alone and silently on the big couch, long legs stretched across it, watching Eddie and Jesse battle both verbally and virtually. His arms were folded behind his head, revealing large muscles and a bronzed tan. I paused in my tracks.

What was his story? I couldn't help wondering. He seemed much older than the rest of the guys, and though there was now a slight smile tilting his lips, he didn't seem to have much emotion to him. Where had they even met him?

Despite all of the weird qualities, the others seemed to value his presence. Very frequently Eddie would shout out, "Dimtiri, dude! Did you see that?" and Adrian would ask what he thought about something. And, despite my confusion, I was undeniably attracted to him.

Not sure what I was even planning to say, I strode over to him, applying my most dangerous grin. Like a gentleman, he moved his legs out of the way so I could sit. He was eyeing me curiously, the same way, I was sure, I was looking at him.

"Hello," I said, finally, breaking the silence that stretched between us. It wasn't uncomfortable or awkward, it was just silence.

"Hi."

"Where are you from?" I asked. Small talk was okay, I could deal with that.

"Russia," he told me. Something cooled in his expression, like tension was melting away from the lines of his face, when he said it. He was clearly homesick. "Siberia."

I made a face. "Why'd you come here?"

Shrugging, he ran a hand through his dark lush hair. "Why does anybody move to a different country? Better opportunities, maybe. My mom dragged me and my sisters here when I was ten."

The irony in that didn't escape me. Dimitri was brought, apparently against his volition, to Florida when he was ten, while I was so desperate to escape at that age. Trenton could not have been the first place he had moved to. Dimitri was at least four years older than me, and if he had been here before I moved, I would have known him.

As if reading my mind, he explained, "I was homeschooled for a while. My sisters as well. My mother was a little…overprotective." His jaw clenched and his eyes darkened. "There were things that she wanted to keep secret. Our location, for example."

Admittedly, I was curious, but there was something in his face that told me this was a touchy subject and prevented me from pushing for more. I also got the impression he wasn't necessarily used to attention being focused on him. And that he was perfectly okay with that. He didn't seem like the type to talk about himself a lot.

My questions were just going to have to wait.

"I can't imagine being taken to Trenton for 'better opportunities'," I admitted. "I was way too eager to get away from here."

"You moved to California with your mother, right?" I nodded and he continued. "Did you not like your father?"

There was something in his voice—not something completely obvious, but definitely there—that sounded like he knew all about that subject. Perhaps he did. He had said that his mother was very protective and wanted to keep their location hidden. I got the feeling that it had a lot to do with his father, and as much as I would have loved to connect with him on that front, the truth left my lips before I could stop it.

"I didn't know him very well," I explained. "He was a lawyer just like my mother, but he traveled a lot. Did a lot of side jobs that, quite frankly, I don't want to know the details about. At that point, my mother worked from her office. We had the money and my dad had a solid income pouring in, so she didn't need to travel like she does now.

My father, though, was always out of country for my birthdays and holidays, and it got to the point where he would even stop sending cards. Sometimes he would make up for it with expensive souvenirs, but he knew as little about me as I did of him.

When I was informed of the divorce, well, you could say it didn't come as much of a surprise. And my mother was the safe bet. So I went with her."

Dimitri nodded in understanding, then asked the question I should have been most expecting, but wasn't. "Then why did you run away from her?"

The way he phrased it made me hesitate. He acted like I was specifically trying to get away from my mother. In fact, he _sounded_ just like her. As if what I had done was nothing more than a stunt to get back at her. Like my decision was based on her.

"It's complicated," was my only response. Though in retrospect it was actually quite simple: my best friend needed help and I was the only one that could give it to her.

"Hey Di," Jesse grunted, interrupting a conversation I was sure we would never get back. "You're up."

The video game controller thumped into Dimitri's lap as he nodded and stood up, heading over to the center of the living room floor.

Jesse plopped down beside me and grinned. "Eddie told me you were pretty," was his opening line, and I grimaced. "But he didn't tell me exactly how _sexy_."

I scoffed and shook my head. I officially knew what Eddie had meant when he told me that some of the guys were trouble. Jesse wasn't bad, per se, he was just a pig. I knew the type all too well, and I was not willing to deal with it. Instead, I decided it had been an excruciatingly long day, and that it was time to just call it a night. I stood from the couch, told Lissa I was headed to bed, then trudged, suddenly exhausted, up the steps.

A thought occurred to me as I began the second flight. _School_. Knowing Abe, Lissa and I were already enrolled and we were going to begin that following Monday.

I groaned. Loudly.

Well, that should be fun. It was precisely what I had been fearing on the plane, seeing all of my old friends. Mason and Christian weren't awful, but they were guys. What about Mia and Jill, who I had been inseparable with.

_That should be fun. _

**Okay, so mostly this chapter was a filler. There are a few changes I am making to the characters. For instance, Dimitri is only going to be 21 rather than 24 and Adrian is Rose's age. But….besides that I think I'm staying kind of in character. **

**Uhmmm, as for my semi-important author's note: I need a critique. I am writing my **_**own**_** story, and I need someone that I can send chapters to who will give me productive feedback and help me out. So, if you want to do that just send me a private message.**

**I had something else as well, but I can't remember :O**

**Anyways, review this chapter, tell me what you think. There's going to be more action in the next chapter. Lemon included!**


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